» easy projects

Pillow Toss

Brittney — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:22:38 +0000

I picked up these brown pillow covers at Ikea when we first arrived in Santa Monica. It was kind of an impulse purchase. We hadn’t painted yet but I needed something to replace the dog eaten pillows. They weren’t that bad so I left them alone.

I finally got up enough gumption to find a fix. I had some left over fabric from the dining room chairs so I got to work. I just used my Ikea pillow covers as a template and whipped these babies up in about and hour. I don’t have a tutorial for you since I just kind of winged it. I didn’t have any zippers handy so I left the back open. I kind of like it and it’s super simple! Here’s a handy tutorial in case you want to whip one up yourself.

So what do you think? Do you like them more than the brown pillows? Too matchy matchy for you?

Map it Out

Brittney — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:32:37 +0000

I was on another kick to find a way to add some fun, inexpensive art to our new home. My brother dutifully delivered an Iowa road map to me on his vacation to visit us.

I simply rolled it out, used the mat as a guide and cut it out. Wha-lah!

In only 10 minutes I had a easy DIY piece of art with extra sentimental value for us. All together now, awww.

Eventually, we’ll be adding it to a collage of photos and artwork on the other side of the room.

Do Over

Brittney — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:34:19 +0000

That’s what’s happening to all of our accent furniture. Currently our coffee table, side table and wine bar are all painted black. It worked perfectly with our cute little dining table.

Well, we’ve sold the dining table and I’m dead set on putting white slipcovers on the couches (I might make them due to some serious inspiration here) so I’ve decided to lighten things up a bit. Let’s paint it all white!

Since we’re going from one extreme to another we need primer (boo! hiss!). This is what I used since I had it handy.

Then I used my fabulous white paint (Benjamin Moore Latex High Gloss Metal & Wood Enamel) that I had left from my chair renovation.

Sitting pretty with our new chair. I think they look great together!

So what do you think of my black to white makeover? I’ll make sure to show you the full reveal when we get settled in to our new place! What’s a quick project that you’ve done to revamp some old furniture or accessories?

Cheap and Easy

Brittney — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:34:42 +0000

That’s how to describe this quick home update. Our light switch in our office was looking a little drab. Off to Home Depot and $1.45 later we were the proud owners of a new white light switch and plate cover. Our wiring is pretty old so we followed the directions here to make sure we were connecting the wires correctly.

Here we have the old light switch-ugly and scary looking.

Step 1: Turn OFF the power. This is important.

Step 2: Remove the old light switch plate

Step 3: Remove the screws holding the actual light switch into the wall

Step 4: Carefully unscrew the old wires from the light switch. Make sure you either mark or remember where each wire goes on the light switch.

Step 5: Screw the wires to the new switch and then re-attach the switch to the wall.

Step 6: Attach new wall plate. Stomp your feet when you realize your new wall plate is a teensy bit smaller than the old one. Dig out old paint and touch up the paint.

Step 7: Re-attach wall switch after you’ve let the paint dry. Enjoy your beautification!